Leaders in Europe Need to Act Quickly Against Warring Parties
In a resounding decision last week, the European Parliament denounced the European Union’s inactivity on the violent crimes being committed by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed organization in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lawmakers criticized the EU’s “lack of coherence” and “inconsistent messages” to Rwanda, calling on the European Commission and member states to act decisively against those enabling atrocities in Congo, beginning with Rwanda, the primary supporter of the M23.
The European Parliament is right to be indignant.
Since late 2021, the M23 has resurfaced in eastern Congo, exposing civilians to rampant sexual violence, indiscriminate shelling and killings, mass displacement, and other abuses by all sides of the fight. The United Nations investigators are among the several who have confirmed Rwanda’s active backing for the armed organization. There is a severe humanitarian catastrophe, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the M23—some more than once—and without access to help.
What, however, has the EU done? On January 25, it released a forceful statement vowing to employ all available means to get Rwanda to stop providing assistance to the violent M23. Nothing’ since.
However, the parliamentary resolution passed last week provides the EU with a clear path forward.
First, it need to impose sanctions on senior Rwandan officials and commanders who have committed crimes in eastern Congo.
Secondly, the EU ought to halt its mineral agreement with Rwanda. Rwanda has “de facto control and direction” over M23 military actions, and the M23 and Rwanda both profit greatly from the illicit mining of minerals in eastern Congo, according to the UN Group of Experts on the Congo.
Third, military cooperation and arms sales that support Rwandan military activities in Congo should be discontinued by the EU and its member states. Rwanda was stepping up its support for the M23 when a €20 million cheque was cleared for its deployment in Mozambique. A commander of the EU-funded Rwandan military in Mozambique was recently moved there from overseeing Rwanda’s operations in eastern Congo, despite uneventful results in operations in the country’s north. The EU may be putting itself at danger of involvement in Rwanda’s abuses in eastern Congo by providing military assistance.
At their meeting on February 24, EU ministers have the opportunity to act. The first actions are to sanction abusive individuals from all sides and to sever agreements with Rwanda that encourage abuses.
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